Triceratops (Jurassic Park: Dinosaurs by Kenner)

Rounding out my assortment of Jurassic Park recolours is none other than the world’s most famous ceratopsid.

First released under the Lost World label in 1997, this Triceratops is rather small compared to the massive 1993 version. Its short horns and length of only 20 cm indicate that it is meant to represent a juvenile. A very cool-looking adult Triceratops was slated for release in both the LW and Chaos Effect lines, but ended up being cancelled each time. Boo. Meanwhile, our humble young friend here went on to be re-released several times. Like the Cyclops Velociraptor I reviewed previously, this one hails from the 2004 Dinosaurs line.

While it’s not on the level of a CollectA ceratopsid, this Triceratops has a fairly spiffy colour scheme nonetheless. It’s chocolate brown with an orange underside, light brown markings, white horns and beak, a pink tongue, and black hooves. Its eyes are light brown with orange pupils and the white JP logo is on its left thigh.

In terms of accuracy, this toy is decent. The frill is the right shape and the limbs look to be of proper proportion, but the feet have five hooves apiece. On the other hand, the arched back is more accurate than on the original JP Triceratops. The skin texture consists mostly of wrinkles, but there are small scutes and a thick row of scales along the back. The surface of the frill is ridged and there are small rounded epoccipitals lining the edge.

The Triceratops is articulated at the shoulders and left hip. Pulling back on the right hind leg causes the head to raise in a butting motion. Don’t underestimate this young scrapper.

I would rank this second out of all the JP Triceratops toys to date. It’s not big, but it’s nicely sculpted, durable, and fun to play with.